Trouble with a bubble

[atxchris1234]

So my bubble coral isn't looking too good. So far I've moved him to an area with minimal flow and lowered the overall temp of the tank from 80 to 78. Is there some other trick or whatnot about these corals? I have it placed near a rock with a high amount of green algae growth on it, could my emeralds be damaging the coral trying to get at the algae?

Any tips? I searched, but only found one post from bill about 2 years ago and it didn't pertain to a newer bubble. In the end, he wound up dipping it multiple times.

[RayAllen]

We are going to need to know your exact water paremeters to help you. Once we know this we can hopefully establish why it " isn't looking to good" and come up with a solution.

[RayAllen]

Also lighting info...

[MissT]

what doesn't look good about it?
color? extension? showing skeleton? sloughing off tissue? picture?:bigsmile:

[Bill S]

This solution has worked VERY well for me:

Put 4 drops of Lugols in a liter (quart) of tank water. Dip the bubble coral in it for 10-15 minutes. Shake it well at the end of the dip, being careful not to damage it - they are fairly fragile - but making sure any slime does come off. Try this once a day for a week. I've revived my bubble several times with this approach - when I bought it a few years ago, it went downhill quickly. This worked VERY well. With that being said, I'm not liable for killing yours if you choose to follow my advice!

I've heard that they get infected with some kind of flagellum, causing them to slime and decay - to the point where the skeleton gets exposed. That's where mine was - and I thought there was a 99% chance it was gone.

[atxchris1234]

http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/3/9023130513.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic/7916066)

Well, the term "not doing so good" is really rather inconsistent. It just seems to be doing fine most of the time, but recently it decided for no apparent reason to "deflate" itself, expelling a long tentacle like strand of thick waste. The next day It seemed to be noticably worse than the previous and the day after that It was actually showing some skeleton in its recession area's. As of this second (when the pic was taken) it is looking rather sick, but not as bad as it has in the past.... I almost want to say its looking like its getting better (knock on wood) Could this have just been a freak spaz? Unidentifiable unless it happens again?

Oh and I just did a water sample:
Sal 1.023
PH 8.0
KH 6.5 ish (i know... it seems low doesn't it?)
Nitrites - 0
ammonia 0
temp - 77.9

[bigmoe21]

do you think this would work for a fox coral too?
This solution has worked VERY well for me:

Put 4 drops of Lugols in a liter (quart) of tank water. Dip the bubble coral in it for 10-15 minutes. Shake it well at the end of the dip, being careful not to damage it - they are fairly fragile - but making sure any slime does come off. Try this once a day for a week. I've revived my bubble several times with this approach - when I bought it a few years ago, it went downhill quickly. This worked VERY well. With that being said, I'm not liable for killing yours if you choose to follow my advice!

I've heard that they get infected with some kind of flagellum, causing them to slime and decay - to the point where the skeleton gets exposed. That's where mine was - and I thought there was a 99% chance it was gone.

[apedroza]

I had a bubble do that from time to time!! They deflate to expel waste like anemones and will gradually inflate themselves. Are you feeding directly?? How often??

[atxchris1234]

No direct feeding... Perhaps that's the prob? It expelled more waste this evening, although through a different head. I'm stumped.

[atxchris1234]

This solution has worked VERY well for me:

Put 4 drops of Lugols in a liter (quart) of tank water. Dip the bubble coral in it for 10-15 minutes. Shake it well at the end of the dip, being careful not to damage it - they are fairly fragile - but making sure any slime does come off. Try this once a day for a week. I've revived my bubble several times with this approach - when I bought it a few years ago, it went downhill quickly. This worked VERY well. With that being said, I'm not liable for killing yours if you choose to follow my advice!

I've heard that they get infected with some kind of flagellum, causing them to slime and decay - to the point where the skeleton gets exposed. That's where mine was - and I thought there was a 99% chance it was gone.

Bill, didn't you use this method to remove some sort of slime? Do you think this would apply to my scenario?

[Bill S]

I've always found that mine seemed to "enjoy" the dip - always seemed to "feel" better afterwards. I've had mine for about 3 years - and I've never direct fed it. Those that have seen it, know it's about the size of one of those smaller-than-regulation basketballs from Six Flags.

I've never direct fed mine...

[atxchris1234]

Okay I'll give it a shot tonight. If It dies its all your fault!!!

You said dip it in a bucket of lugals with a few drops of water right???

:bigsmile: j/k

[Bill S]

When I first did this, I waited too long - until I was SURE it would die without some intervention.

I found the technique searching the web. I really don't think you will see bad results with this - just don't overdo it - 15 minutes, max. And, don't overdo the Lugols.

[atxchris1234]

After the dip the bubble looks MUCH better.

THANKS BILL

I'll dip it again if need be, but it already looks much better

[Bill S]

I wondered what happened with this...

[RICKY81]

sorry to tag along, but i seem to also have a problem with my bubble, might try doing the same thing. what is the lugols and where do u get it from.

[atxchris1234]

sorry to tag along, but i seem to also have a problem with my bubble, might try doing the same thing. what is the lugols and where do u get it from.

http://www.kentmarine.com/saltwater/iodine/lugols-solution.htm

Thats it, only listed as a visual referance. SUPPORT YOUR LFS! I know they have it at aquatek and I would be pretty surprised if they dont have it at RCA

[RICKY81]

as for dipping the coral with the lugols solution, could it also work for sps... ex. frags that are bleaching, or changing differrent colors., and do u use the same water to dip several corals at the same time and different days. or do u use 1 liter per frag or many and/or do u use new water and solution each day.

[Bill S]

New water, new solution for each dip.